Think Local Month wrap up! 

Frankston City Council's first Think Local Month was a huge success! The March campaign aimed to encourage the community, businesses and workers to think local first when it comes to buying, booking or using trades, services and retailers. The month involved a launch night, 22 business workshops delivered to more than 160 local business owners, giving away 100 $1000 grants, activating 10 neighbourhood shopping strips with local musicians, a small business expo with 46 exhibitors and more than 130 attendees and more! Thank you to all of our local presenters who donated their time to help businesses upskill, to our gift bag contributors for their generosity, to the attendees for supporting the campaign and finally to everyone who thought local and will continue to Think Local. Supporting local small and medium businesses helps to boost the Frankston City economy, strengthen our local workforce, reduce our carbon footprint and build local connections within the community. 

Business Directory 

We have had huge interest in our upcoming Frankston City Business Directory, with over 90 local businesses already expressing their interest. Whether you are a business in Carrum Downs, Frankston, Frankston North or South, Sandhurst, Skye or Langwarrin your business, whatever industry you may be in, can get listed on a trusted directory for both customers and businesses to use. The Business Directory is being developed by Council's Economic Development Team (us) to support, connect and promote local business to the community from a trusted source.  If you are interested in registering your business, click here! 
You will receive an email from the Economic Development team when the site is ready for businesses to register.  We can't wait to get this one up and running! Stay tuned! 

Share your vision 

Help shape Frankston's future! Share your vision to influence key plans for 2024 and beyond. We're reviewing four key strategic documents – The Community Vision 2040, Council Plan, Asset Plan, and Financial Plan – that all help to guide Council decision making. You can influence our strategic documents, and the future of Frankston City, by completing our online survey.  We’ve been working to achieve our current Community Vision 2040 by delivering services under our Council Plan 2021-2025. As part of the survey, we'd like to learn more about the services you would like to see more of, or less of, within these categories.  By completing the full survey, you’ll go in a draw to win a $100 Prezzee voucher to spend on groceries, petrol, entertainment and more. Visit Engage Frankston and have your say today. 

Workshop feedback 

While we had more than 160 business owners attend our Think Local Month business training workshops during March, we now want to hear from those who didn't or couldn't attend! During the campaign we ran 22 FREE business workshops for Frankston City businesses on a range of different topics such as small business banking, video marketing, google advertising, Work Health and Safety, employment law and much more. The workshops were held locally on weekdays in the mornings and afternoons. If you were unable to attend any of the workshops, can you tell us why? Did the dates and times not work for you? Would you like to have seen different topics explored? We want to hear from you so that we can work to provide workshops in the future to suit every Frankston City business. 

Small Business Expo 

Frankston City Council's first Small Business Expo was held on Tuesday 26 March at Frankston Arts Centre. There were 46 local business exhibitors from a range of industries and more than 130 visitors attended to meet some of our local businesses and check out goods and services on offer in our city. The event was free and all attendees received a gift bag containing vouchers or gifts from local businesses. Feedback from visitors and exhibitors was overwhelmingly positive with many wanting to return next year. Many exhibitors made connections with other exhibitors at the expo which has resulted in sales or collaboration. Thank you to all of our generous goodie bag contributors, to Frankston Arts Centre for hosting the event, to all of the exhibitors and to the visitors for supporting local businesses and for Thinking Local! 

Frantastic Food Safety Awards

Congratulations to two Frankston City businesses; Meat Your There in Frankston North and Seaford Kebabs & Gozleme in Seaford who have received the 2023 Frantastic Food Safety Excellence Award!⁠
Last week Frankston City Mayor and Council's Environmental Health Officers awarded the two businesses to recognise them for being excellent operators, displaying a high standard of food safety practices and being leaders within our local food industry.⁠
⁠Seaford Kebabs & Gozleme on Sunderland Ct in Seaford is a family run business serving delicious Kebabs, HSP and Turkish food for the past 3 years. Meat You There on Excelsior Drive in Frankston North is also a family run business serving up tender kebab's and delicious sauce to go with! Well done to all! 

Digital Jobs Program

Hosting a Digital Jobs participant is a great way to fast-track recruitment for digital roles and increase diversity in your digital team. The Victorian Government Digital Jobs Program is a $63.8 million nation-leading program that is upskilling 5,000 talented mid-career Victorians to transition into high-demand jobs in the digital economy. Participants are over 30 years of age, more than half are women and many come from diverse backgrounds with experience in a wide range of sectors. Employers receive a $5,000 wage subsidy for each 12-week work placement or entry level job offered to a program participant and have the option to retain the participant as an ongoing employee. Participants have skills in data analysis, digital marketing and User Experience, web development, Salesforce, Cloud Computing and more. To learn more, you can attend an online information session on Wednesday 1 May, 2024, 10am - 10.45am.

Don't be Caught Dead! 

New business!! Frankston City based, Critical Info, a death-tech start-up, has recently launched a new podcast Don't Be Caught Dead and has developed a resource hub which includes a national guide My loved one died, what do I do now? to help people navigate the steps needed when a loved one dies. The podcast is hosted by founder Catherine Ashton, and covers discussions around grief, confronting death as a funeral director, the emotional toll of healthcare workers during a global crisis, right through to increasing death literacy and promoting open conversations about end-of-life matters. Critical Info also includes a cloud-based web application that allows you to document your life, your wishes, and your legacy to share with your loved ones. Congratulations Critical Info on your launch! 

Frankston Station car park upgrade continues 

The Victorian Government’s Car Parks for Commuters Program is partnering with the Australian Government to deliver more station car parking at Frankston Station. This will free up local streets and make it easier to catch the train. They are building a new multi-deck car park at Frankston Station within the existing station car park on Fletcher Road. Works will deliver 500 new car spaces, including 10 new accessible car spaces, improved lighting, CCTV and additional bike parking facilities. Major works are underway, and the project is expected to be completed by late 2024. From Thursday 4 April to late June 2024, there will be disruptions to existing carparks while the works are safely carried out. Works will take place Monday to Friday between 7am and 6pm and Saturday between 7am and 5pm with some out of hours works required at times. For more information please email us.

Safer Communities Footpath Trading Permit reminder 

Is your footpath trading, signage and / or dining compliant with Frankston City Council's guidelines and permit regulations? To keep the community safe, the Safer Communities team are enforcing the Footpath Trading Permits for businesses with outdoor dining, A Frames, and goods that are displayed on the footpath and we are here to help! Our Business Concierge can help you access a permit, find out if your display / furniture complies and provide information on all things footpath trading related. 
The new Footpath Trading Parklet and Policy Guidelines are also available for you to read and make sure you are helping to keep the community safe too. Visit the below link or email businessconcierge@frankston.vic.gov.au to speak with our friendly Business Concierge. 

Other Business news 

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry news: 
Victorian Driver Licences go digital! 
Digital driver's licences will roll out in May in Victoria, which will require businesses that check or rely on photo identification and proof of age functions to update their processes.
CSIRO boosts funding for SME innovation. Up to 750 small and medium businesses will have access to extra support to turn innovative ideas into business ventures after CSIRO expanded its SME Connect program.
Business Victoria news: 
5 must-have checklists for business owners. These are five of the most important checklists you need for your business. Take charge of your cybersecurity, end of financial year bookkeeping, finances, recruitment and sustainability.
Important tax dates for business owners in 2024. This handy guide will make sure you don’t forget the important dates in 2024, including when to lodge your tax returns, business activity statements or super for employees.

Net zero in the South East Commercial Sector 

City of Casey Sustainability and Waste Team is seeking business input about its South East regional approach to net zero for the commercial sector via a series of online workshops. Your participation will contribute significantly towards identifying barriers that currently exist for reducing emissions. Greater South East Melbourne (GSEM) and the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA) have been working together to develop a regional Zero Emissions Roadmap for the South East of Melbourne.This Roadmap provides an opportunity to proactively and collaboratively position the region to benefit and prosper in a low-emissions world. The one-hour workshops will be led by Kate Nicolazzo from climate change agency Let Me Be Frank, and is one of a series of eight (8) across the region.
* Thursday 2 May, 12pm - 1pm: Register here  
* Monday 6 May, 3.30pm - 4.30pm Register here

Commbank Small Business Expo 

Council's Economic Development team will be exhibiting at the Commbank Small Business Expo, part of SmallBiz Week, at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on 29 and 30 May. To help put Frankston City on the map as a desirable place to invest and do business, Council will join 120 other exhibitors from industries including Banking, Telco, IT, AI Technologies, and Cybersecurity. Catering to the needs of small businesses, CommBank SmallBiz Week will feature a range of speaker sessions, networking functions and events that will help your business grow. If you are keen to come along too visit CommBank Small Business Expo 2024 - CommBank SmallBiz Week 2024.
Council hopes to speak with potential investors and small businesses at the event who are eager to expand, relocate or start their business in a progressive location and help them learn more about Frankston City, THE place to live, work, play and invest.

FBC May events! 

Frankston Business Collective (FBC) May 2024 Business Networking Night will be held on Wednesday 29 May at Vicinity Bayside Shopping Centre from 5.30pm - 7.30pm. The event will take place at the newly refurbished Level 2 area featuring an adaptable space with natural light flooding the expansive area and a new lobby under the atrium. The topic will be Building Confidence and Valuing Yourself in Business with Hayley Gravener Specialist Relational Trauma Counsellor | Social Worker from Be Healed Specialist Counselling Service. FBC members can attend for free while for non-members the event costs $25. 
Have you joined the Frankston Business Collective yet?  A Frankston City Council initiative, the FBC is an independent group made up of a CEO and a board of local business owners designed to support the Frankston City business community. Check out frankstonbusinesscollective.com.au to find out more.